The woman told police she met the scammer on social media in mid-July and they communicated via email. After gaining her trust, the scammer fabricated a story about their "spaceship being attacked and running out of oxygen," requesting she purchase cryptocurrency to cover the cost.

By 30/8, the woman had made five trips to a convenience store, purchasing cryptocurrency cards totaling one million yen, which she then sent to the scammer.

Japanese convenience store chains (combini) like 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson don't directly sell cryptocurrency. Instead, they sell gift cards or prepaid cards that can be used to top up online service accounts.

Exploiting this, scammers often ask victims to buy these cards and send the codes. Once the scammer receives the codes, they can resell them online or use them to purchase goods, making the transactions virtually untraceable.

80-year-old woman in Hokkaido Prefecture scammed out of one million yen in late August 2025. Illustrative photo: Flickr

The scam was only discovered after the woman told her family.

Japanese police are urging the public to be wary of requests for money from online acquaintances and to contact their hotline for advice.

According to the National Police Agency, social media scams in Japan surged in 2024, resulting in record losses of 126.8 billion yen ($835 million USD) from romance and online investment scams, far exceeding the 81.3 billion yen lost in 2023.

Romance scams nearly doubled to 3,784 cases, while investment scams rose to 6,380 cases.

Special fraud cases, such as impersonating police officers, also reached a record high of 72.2 billion yen ($476 million USD), a 59.4% increase from the previous year. Most of these fraudulent calls originated from overseas.

Minh Phuong (AFP, Yahoo Japan)